An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice

William Godwin Edited by Mark Philp

The only critical edition of this founding text in the history of political philosophy, including invaluable introduction and notes.

Its powerful critique of the institutions of government and support for individual liberty of judgement raises profound questions about the nature of our duty to others that is still relevant today.

Uses the first edition of 1793 which best reflects the close connection between the dynamism of the text and its historical context, capturing the full original power of his argument and imagination.

The Introduction gives a clear guide to the core argument of Political Justice, showing how it developed and how it connects to modern philosophical concerns, as well setting it in the context of Godwin's life and the history of the period.

Invaluable notes explain historical references and allusions.

An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice

William Godwin Edited by Mark Philp

Description

'To a rational being there can be but one rule of conduct, justice, and one mode of ascertaining that rule, the exercise of his understanding.'

Godwin's Political Justice is the founding text of philosophical anarchism. Written in the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution, it exemplifies the political optimism felt by many writers and intellectuals. Godwin drew on enlightenment ideas and his background in religious dissent for the principles of justice, utility, and the sanctity of individual judgement that drove his powerful critique of all forms of secular and religious authority. He predicts the triumph of justice and equality over injustice, and of mind over matter, and the eventual vanquishing of human frailty and mortality. He also foresees the gradual elimination of practices governing property, punishment, law, and marriage and the displacement of politics by an expanded personal morality resulting from reasoned argument and candid discussion. Political Justice raises deep philosophical questions about the nature of our duty to others that remain central to modern debates on ethics and politics.

This edition reprints the first-edition text of 1793, and examines Godwin's evolving philosophy in the context of his life and work.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice

William Godwin Edited by Mark Philp

Author Information

Mark Philp is the General Editor of the Collected Novels and Memoirs of William Godwin, 8 vols (1992), the Political and Philosophical Writings of William Godwin, 7 vols (1993), and has also co-edited The Diary of William Godwin (2010). His books include Godwin's Political Justice (1986), Thomas Paine (2007), Political Conduct (2007), and, with Joanna Innes, Re-Imagining Democracy in the Age of Revolutions (Oxford, 2013).

An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice

William Godwin Edited by Mark Philp

From Our Blog

By Mark Philp Do people at the end of the eighteenth century celebrate their birthdays? More precisely, what did William Godwin (1756-1836) ' philosopher, novelist, husband of feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) and father of Mary Shelly (1797-1851) ' do on his birthday, which falls on 3 March?